


Next Stop, Happiness

by frolickingangels



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Childhood Friends AU, M/M, Sad feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 02:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8353501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frolickingangels/pseuds/frolickingangels
Summary: Ever since Yuuri had learned how to walk, talk, and remember things, it had always been this one special person – him with his silver hair and blue eyes and kind smile.   Yuuri could still remember it. It was almost like a fairytale, a little blurry, a little unsure if it was a dream or a real memory, but it was as if when he first opened his eyes, it was Viktor’s beaming smile that greeted him in a white, almost snowy backdrop.





	

**Author's Note:**

> DON'T let the title fool you.
> 
> just don't.

 

 

_Ever since Yuuri had learned how to walk, talk, and remember things, it had always been this one special person – him with his silver hair and blue eyes and kind smile._

_Yuuri could still remember it. It was almost like a fairytale, a little blurry, a little unsure if it was a dream or a real memory, but it was as if when he first opened his eyes, it was Viktor’s beaming smile that greeted him in a white, almost snowy backdrop._

_The Nikiforov family had been considered as somehow peculiar foreigners who lived in their town – a bunch of silver-haired, fair-skinned, freckle-spotted Russians in Hasetsu – but they were nice and his family got along well with the Katsuki family and were friends even before Yuuri was born._

_When his mother went into labor with him, the Katsukis and the Nikiforovs were having lunch together. As friends, they helped in taking her to the hospital and giving all the support they could. Of course, Viktor was also there – five years old with his eyes big and wide in so much horror and confusion because why was Auntie Hiroko in pain, sweating so much, breathing heavily, and holding her stomach as if it were about to pop?_

_“He was there, you know,” Yuuri remembered his mother’s voice, her smile, and the way her fingers threaded through his hair when he was a child as she recounted the story. “Vicchan was there when you were born, outside of the room where they kept all the babies. He was looking through the glass and his mother told me he was so excited that he was jumping a little too much in the hospital! He said:_

_“Mommy, mommy, is that Auntie Hiroko’s baby Yuuri? I want to play with him!””_

_His mother paused, still smiling, but she let the tiny Yuuri (he was probably seven or eight years old back then, he couldn’t remember exactly) process what she’s told him so far._

_“Do you see how lucky and blessed you are, Yuuri? You had Vicchan waiting for you when you were born.”_

_And he was. Viktor was a gift to him._

_Sometimes other residents and hot spring competitors talked about the Nikiforov’s and Katsuki’s unusual friendship in hushed voices behind their backs, but Yuuri was still too young, too pure, too innocent to really understand anything bad in the world._

_Even if he did, he wouldn’t have cared because whenever he would hear that high pitched “Yuu-chan~!” he’d be turning and he’d be running straight into Viktor’s arms. Viktor would carry him, play with him, eat with him and wipe the katsudon sauce off his face with a laugh whenever he ate messily._

_More importantly, Viktor taught him how to skate._

_Yuuri was five and Viktor was ten when Viktor first took him to Hasetsu’s Ice Castle._

_“I’ll take you to a wonderful place, Yuu-chan!”_

_Yuuri believed him then, but the skating rink scared him when he saw it. It was big and it was super cold and what was it even for?_

_He’d been so terrified so he was quiet for quite a while._

_But Viktor was smiling so widely, Viktor was happy just showing him the scary, big ice so Yuuri let Viktor put some weird shoes on him. They were a little big, definitely heavy, and with scary looking sharp things below that looked a lot like his mother’s kitchen knife. He’d been instructed to stay away from those knives and to never touch them or to never even be near them._

_“They can cut you, hurt you, and then you could die.” His older sister said. It gave him nightmares about knives for a while after that._

_But Viktor held those terrifying shoes with so much joy and he was talking nonstop while he put the smaller ones on Yuuri’s feet and put bigger ones on his own._

_“We’re ready! Come on, Yuu-chan!” Viktor took Yuuri’s smaller hand into his bigger ones and almost dragged him into the ice. Yuuri stumbled a little, but he never fell down because Viktor was there._

_Yuuri screamed and held on tighter to Viktor’s hand the moment he realized he and Viktor were standing on the ice using the strange shoes. “Vicchan, what are we doing?!”_

_“This is called ice skating and it’s a beautiful, magical thing where we can dance on the ice!” Viktor’s voice was gleeful at first, but then his head tilted in confusion at Yuuri’s horrified reaction and almost flailing arms. Yuuri was scrambling to hold on to his other hand and he willingly gave it. “Yuu-chan? What’s wrong?”_

_He bent over a little to look at Yuuri in the eye, but Yuuri couldn’t take his big, round eyes off the ice and the skates. Viktor had to urge his chin up with the back of his hand because Yuuri wouldn’t let go of his had._

_Yuuri met his eyes and Viktor realized he was nearly crying, tears already welling up those precious eyes. “I’m scared,” his tiny voice let out in a hiccup._

_Viktor’s heart shattered at the sight and he wanted to hit himself because he didn’t realize Yuuri’s fear earlier and he was the one who put the distressed expression on Yuuri’s face. They should’ve stopped. He should’ve carried Yuuri and skated out of the skating rink then, but that wouldn’t have helped. Yuuri would have always been scared of the ice and the sport Viktor loved so much._

_He had to show him just how fun and amazing skating could be._

_“Yuu-chan,” Viktor smiled his kind smile, the smile that Yuuri’s mom was grateful for because it always did calm down Yuuri’s crying. His voice was soft and soothing when he continued, “I’m here, aren’t I? There’s no reason for you to be scared. I’m holding on to you.”_

_“B-but this ice is big and the shoes are heavy a-and…” his body was trembling, shivering, “it’s so cold.”_

_“That’s because we’re not moving, silly. We need to move to keep warm.” Viktor started moving, skating backwards, pulling Yuuri along with him slowly and carefully. Yuuri yelped and held on tighter to Viktor’s hands, tiny body stiff and strung like a bow. “Relax, Yuu-chan.”_

_“I can’t.”_

_“I’ll tell you a little secret.”_

_That got Yuuri’s attention on him completely._

_Once more, Viktor smiled. Viktor was always smiling at him, but somehow that one was different. Yuuri didn’t know why or how it was different, just that it was a smile that stayed with him forever. There was a comforting squeeze on his hands, and somehow he relaxed, noticing just how warm Viktor was even on the ice. It helped chase away his fears._

_“The ice has magic powers. When you’re on it and you give your hands to another person, it binds you both together and your lives are placed in each other’s hands. When I said that I would hold on to you, it’s the same as promising to protect you.” There was another squeeze on Yuuri’s hands, as if emphasizing his point. “No matter what it takes, Yuu-chan, I’ll protect you.”_

_Yuuri felt the tears disappear, felt the choking hold of fear fade away, felt the presence of an overwhelming warmth grow in his chest and spread all over his body instead._

_“I’ll never let go of you, Yuu-chan.” Viktor reassured._

_“Never, Vicchan?”_

_“Never.”_

 

 

“But you did let go,” Yuuri mumbled to himself, posture slumped as he looked at the news on his phone. He was placed last in the finale, but as he read the newly refreshed and updated page, there he saw the title: _‘Viktor Nikiforov, winner and gold medalist of this year’s Sochi Grand Prix Final!’_

 

“You let go, Vicchan.” He felt the tears well up again, but he tried, tried so hard to hold them back. For now. “You let go, and you went where I could only dream to follow.”

 

His coach was saying something, he didn’t know what exactly, maybe something comforting or supposedly something to cheer him up, but Yuuri didn’t care. He had to get out of there so he excused himself of going into the bathroom.

 

Four years after that first day in Hasetsu’s Ice Castle, Vicchan, _his Vicchan,_ was scouted to become a professional figure skater. Yuuri couldn’t blame the scout; Viktor was amazing, wonderful, entrancing on the ice as he danced and executed jumps with all the passion and grace he had.

 

But it was because of that beauty, that talent, that passion, that Viktor left for Russia. Yuuri cried that day, but Viktor could only hug him tightly and give him the saddest smile in the airport. He’d made Viktor promise to keep in touch because they could always write letters or make phone calls.

 

But there was nothing after that.

 

Yuuri tried his best to understand. Viktor was busy with practice.

 

And his practice was worth it because a year after he left, he became a champion of the ice at age fifteen. Yuuri watched his performance on television and that was when he started dreaming bigger than the universe itself. He would practice with all that he had, he would skate professionally, join competitions, and then someday, he would be on the same level, the same ice as his Vicchan again.

 

Like that very first time Viktor showed him the ice and held his hand.

 

But then, look how life turned out.

 

Viktor remained a winner for five consecutive World Championships while Yuuri placed dead last in his first international finale.

 

There was no other place for him but the bathroom stall where he could cry and sob his heart out.

 

He couldn’t give up just like that. He knew he couldn’t afford to go home just because of his loss.

 

But he could still wish.

 

That’s right, Yuuri could only wish that he could turn back time, that he could go back to simpler, happier days of his childhood. He’d give anything to be on the skating rink of Ice Castle with Viktor again who would hold his hand to chase away his fears and anxieties.

 

There, he’d feel happy.

 

There, he’d feel protected.

 

Just like Viktor had promised him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah... I know... I wanna slap me too.
> 
> Anyway! This fic happened because:  
> 1.) I read [ this kind of conspiracy on tumblr ](http://berrymuchinlove.tumblr.com/post/152125595508/thoughts-viktor-nikiforov) about Viktor using Yuuri and being really manipulative and selfish deep down. I love dark theories like this! I do! and I think people who think up of these things and do deep meta analyses of characters are pretty hardcore and awesome! But the Victuuri loving side of me was a _a little_ too affected and felt immensely sad at this so I wanted to have sweeter things, simpler things like what if Yuuri and Viktor were childhood friends? That would've been hella cute, but then... the sad feelings resurfaced and welp, there's our ending right there.
> 
> 2.) This was heavily inspired by the Taiwanese award-winning drama Autumn's Concerto (2009). That line about entrusting your life on someone while on the ice? It's inspired by the leading guy's line in Episode 1 hehehe. Also, the title, 'Next Stop, Happiness,' is its alternative title and I just thought... it's somehow an appropriate title for this fic too... because Autumn's Concerto is such a sad, beautiful drama. If you have time, I highly recommend this drama!!
> 
> 3.) If you want some music to read this with and intensify the feelings, listen to [ Della Ding's Family (Qing Ren) ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GsRHtLUoy0) which is part of Autumn Concerto's wonderful, feels-inducing, tears-triggering soundtrack. Look at the [ English translation ](http://www.jpopasia.com/lyrics/36933/della_ding/qing-ren/) too, if you dare.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!  
> This thing is unbeta-ed. If you spot any mistakes or something off, let me know. Constructive criticism are very much welcome!
> 
> Yell at me in the comments, or on [tumblr](http://frolickingviktor.tumblr.com/), or on [twitter](https://twitter.com/frolckingangels)  
> Kudos are wonderful things ♥


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